Endangered species cling to existence in Death Valley's shrinking wetlands

CaptionChecking the traps

Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Under gleaming stars, Janet Foley, an epidemiology professor at UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine, leads a team of scientists wearing headlamps through the marshlands of the Mojave Desert to check live traps set to catch the Amargosa vole.

Under gleaming stars, Janet Foley, an epidemiology professor at UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine, leads a team of scientists wearing headlamps through the marshlands of the Mojave Desert to check live traps set to catch the Amargosa vole. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Wearing headlamps, the researchers check traps for voles. When they find one, they record its vital statistics, attach an identification tag to its ear and release it back into the wild.

Wearing headlamps, the researchers check traps for voles. When they find one, they record its vital statistics, attach an identification tag to its ear and release it back into the wild. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

East of Death Valley National Park, about 200 Amargosa voles cling to life in habitats prone to disease, inbreeding and predation. Now, voles and other threatened or endangered desert species face more challenges by drought and climate change. Read the storyGina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times